Broad Coalition of 96 Organizations Urges Congress to Reject Attacks on Long-Standing Clean Air Protections

Monday, August 24, 2026 

Dear Members of Congress, 

We, the undersigned 96 health, business, environmental, consumer advocate, local governments, and science organizations, urge you to vote NO on the improper Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolutions that seek to overturn four long-standing Clean Air Act preemption waivers that states rely on to protect the health and safety of their residents (H.J.Res 202 / S.J.Res.206, H.J.Res 205 / S.J.Res.207, H.J.Res.211 / S.J.Res.208, H.J Res 214 / S.J.Res.205). These waivers pertain to:

 ● Greenhouse gas (GHG) emission standards for passenger cars, light-duty trucks and medium-duty vehicles that the auto industry has already been complying with since 2009; 
● Smog-forming pollutant and GHG emissions limits for light-duty vehicles that the auto industry has already been complying with since 2015 (Advanced Clean Cars I (ACC I) program); 
● The 2022 reinstatement of the 2013 ACC I waiver (after the EPA unlawfully purported to withdraw it in 2019); 
● The Small Off-Road Engine (SORE) amendments, which set exhaust standards for garden equipment and other polluting small engines in California (and cannot be adopted by other states). 

These state clean air standards, explicitly allowed under the Clean Air Act and previously approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), are essential for saving families money and protecting air quality. Given the affordability crisis facing millions of people today, it would be a disastrous waste of time and resources to attempt to nullify the waivers. Vehicles and off-road engines currently in use already meet the standards that Congress is attacking – and these standards mean that our cars, trucks and off-road engines cost less at the gas pump and that our air is cleaner. There’s nothing to fix. 

If Congress attempts to improperly block the implementation of these long-established state standards, families will experience consequences such as: 

● Straining household budgets. Gas prices are skyrocketing, and drivers are feeling the pinch every time they fill up. A proven solution that breaks Americans’ dependence on volatile gas prices is cleaner vehicles that use less fuel. 

● Breathing toxic air: More than 152 million people live in counties with unhealthy levels of ozone or particulate pollution, according to the American Lung Association. Smogforming pollution from combustion cars, trucks, lawn mowers, and leaf blowers can worsen asthma, decrease lung function, and lead to premature death, particularly in children and the elderly. Fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from transportation is singlehandedly responsible for up to 20,000 premature deaths each year. All of these burdens disproportionately affect communities of color and low-income communities who are more likely to live near major trucking routes and transportation hubs. 

The U.S. had been making progress, allowing more people to breathe easier thanks to lifesaving programs under the Clean Air Act. However, the American Lung Association’s “State of the Air” reports in 2025 and 2026 document a stark reversal forcing more people to live in counties graded “F” for ozone pollution. The waivers are more essential than ever. These improper CRA resolutions threaten the ability of states to take action to protect their residents from harmful air pollution and its negative public health impacts. Losing these waivers would mean that air quality planning agencies in states that rely on the emissions reductions the programs achieve would need to find equivalent emission reductions from other sources or potentially face harsh consequences like losing transportation funding. 

We urge Congress to oppose these unwarranted attacks on state authority and our air and public health and vote NO on (H.J.Res 202 / S.J.Res.206, H.J.Res 205 / S.J.Res.207, H.J.Res.211 / S.J.Res.208, H.J Res 214 / S.J.Res.205). 

Sincerely, 

1000 Friends of Wisconsin 
350 Bay Area Action 
350Mass Transportation Working Group 
5 Lakes Energy 
ACEEE 
Acterra: Action for a Healthy Planet 
Action Together New Jersey 
ANHE 
Appalachian Mountain Club 
Breathe Southern California 
California Environmental Voters 
California Interfaith Power & Light 
CATF Action 
Center for Biological Diversity 
Central California Asthma Collaborative 
Climate Action California 
Climate Action Campaign 
Climate Justice Alliance 
Climate Mayors 
Climate Solutions 
Coalition for Clean Air 
Coltura 
Connecticut Environmental Justice Electric Vehicle Collaborative 
Connecticut League of Conservation Voters (CTLCV) 
Conservation Colorado 
Conservation Law Foundation 
Creation Justice Ministries 
Dayenu: A Jewish Call to Climate Action 
EAA 
Earthjustice Action 
Ecology Center 
EDF Action 
Elders Climate Action 
Electric Vehicle Association 
Electric Vehicle Club of CT 
Emphysema Foundation of America 
Endangered Species Coalition 
Environmental Justice League 
Environmental Law & Policy Center 
Evergreen Action 
FACTS 
Families Advocating for Chemical and Toxics Safety 
Fresh Energy 
Go Green Illinois 
Green Energy Consumers Alliance 
GreenLatinos 
Lawyers for Good Government 
League of Conservation Voters (LCV) 
Maine Climate and Health Alliance 
Maine Conservation Voters 
Maine Unitarian Universalist State Advocacy Network
Maryland League of Conservation Voters 
Medical Advocates For Healthy Air 
Moms Clean Air Force 
Mothers Out Front 
Mountain Mamas 
Move LA 
National Consumers League 
Native Sun Community Power Development 
Natural Resources Council of Maine 
Natural Resources Defense Council 
Nevada Conservation League 
New Yorkers for Clean Power 
Newton EV Task Force 
Oregon Environmental Council 
Pacific Environment 
Paired Power 
PDA 
Physicians for Social Responsibility 
Physicians for Social Responsibility Maine 
Plug In America 
Prairie Rivers Network 
Progressives for Democracy in America 
Public Citizen 
Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility 
Regional Asthma Management & Prevention (RAMP) 
Regional Plan Association 
Reno + Sparks Chamber of Commerce 
Respiratory Health Association
San Francisco Bay Physicians for Social Responsibility 
SanDiego350 
Sierra Club 
Southern Alliance for Clean Energy 
Southern Environmental Law Center 
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project 
stand.earth 
The Climate Center 
The Greenlining Institute 
TransitMatters 
Union of Concerned Scientists 
United Women in Faith 
Vermont Natural Resources Council 
Voices for Progress 
Washington Conservation Action 
WE ACT for Environmental Justice 
WE Build Back Better Alliance (WBBA) 
Wisconsin Clean Cities